U.S. Transmission Project to Import Canadian Hydropower Moves Forward

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A plan by Minnesota Power (Duluth, Minnesota), the utility unit of ALLETE Incorporated (NYSE:ALE) (Duluth, Minnesota), to build a 220-mile, 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission project to import hydropower from Manitoba Hydro (Winnipeg, Manitoba) took several steps forward in recent months:

• On March 16, an administrative law judge with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) (St. Paul, Minnesota) recommended the MPUC grant a certificate of need for the Great Northern Transmission Project, which has a total investment value (TIV) of about $537 million.
• Earlier, the MPUC approved a 150-megawatt (MW) power-purchase agreement (PPA) between Minnesota Power and Manitoba Hydro.
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (Washington, D.C.) granted the proposed transmission project a facilities-construction agreement.
• The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana) included the Great Northern Transmission Line in its Transmission Expansion Planning report, issued in December 2014. MISO is the regional transmission organization (RTO) that oversees the transmission network across 15 states and the province of Manitoba.

The transmission project still has a few regulatory hurdles to clear, including an MPUC decision on the project's certificate of need, which could come at the end of May, Minnesota Power spokeswoman Amy Rutledge told Industrial Info.

Minnesota regulators also must approve the route for the project, which could come later this year or early next year. Finally, as the project will be importing Canadian energy, it must receive a presidential permit from the White House. Rutledge estimated the route permit and the presidential permit could be received later this year or early next year.

"The Great Northern Transmission Line (GNTL) is a critical component of our 'Energy Forward' strategy to further diversify our energy supply portfolio and lessen our carbon footprint," Rutledge said in an emailed statement to Industrial Info. "The GNTL will deliver 250 megawatts of carbon-free hydropower from Manitoba Hydro to our customers when the line goes into service in 2020."

In 2005, coal accounted for 95% of Minnesota Power's generation, she noted, but the utility has added nearly 500 MW of wind power to its resource portfolio in recent years. About 25% of the utility's energy supply now comes from renewable sources, which puts Minnesota Power well ahead of the state's renewable energy standard, she said. The utility provides electric service to about 144,000 customers in a 26,000-square-mile area in northeastern Minnesota.

Construction of the Great Northern Transmission Line is expected to kick off in late 2016, and a mid-2020 in-service date is planned. The proposed project will facilitate the delivery of at least 750 MW of energy into the U.S. beginning in 2020. Both Minnesota Power and Manitoba Hydro have held numerous open houses to gather stakeholder feedback about the project.

Minnesota Power plans to run the line from the Manitoba-Minnesota border near Roseau, Minnesota, to an expanded Blackberry electric substation east of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. HDR Engineering Incorporated (Omaha, Nebraska) is providing engineering services to the proposed transmission project.

"Canada has substantial hydropower resources, and U.S. utilities want to access that low-cost, emission-free energy," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "Construction of border-crossing transmission projects, like the Great Northern Transmission Line, are an essential ingredient in the 'greening' of U.S. electric supply."

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